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Visual transform applications for estimating the spatial QRS –T angle
from the conventional 12-lead ECG: Kors is still most Frank
Daniel Cortez, MD,
a, b,
⁎
Nandita Sharma, MD,
c
Christopher Devers, PhD,
d
Erin Devers, PhD,
d
Todd T. Schlegel, MD
e
a
CHOC Children's, Orange, CA, USA
b
Children's Hospital of Colorado, Aurora, CA, USA
c
Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA
d
Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, IN, USA
e
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA
Abstract Background: The 12-lead ECG-derived spatial QRS–T angle has prognostic and diagnostic utility,
but most ECG machines currently fail to report it. The primary goal was to determine if reasonably
accurate methods exist for rapid visual estimations of the spatial peaks QRS–T angle from
conventional 12-lead ECG tracings.
Methods and Results: Simultaneous 12-lead and Frank XYZ-lead recordings were obtained from a
publicly available database for 100 post-myocardial infarction patients and 50 controls. ANOVA,
Pearson's correlation coefficients and concordance plots were used to evaluate agreement for spatial
peaks QRS–T angle results from the true Frank leads versus from several visually applied 12-to-
Frank XYZ-lead transforms. The latter included Kors et al.'s regression and quasi-orthogonal, Bjerle
and Arvedson's quasi-orthogonal, Dower's inverse, and Hyttinen et al.'s, Dawson et al.'s and
Guillem et al.'s transforms. Spatial peaks QRS–T angles derived from the true Frank leads were not
statistically significantly different from those derived from any visually applied transform. Of the
visually applied transforms, the Kors' regression and Kors' quasi-orthogonal yielded the highest
Pearson correlation coefficients against the gold-standard true Frank lead results [0.84 and 0.77,
respectively, when individuals with bundle branch blocks were included (N = 150), and 0.88 and
0.80, respectively, when individuals with bundle branch blocks were excluded (N = 137)]. Bland–
Altman 95% confidence intervals showed similar results, with the two Kors'-related methods also
having the narrowest confidence intervals.
Conclusions: When visually applied, the Kors' regression-related and quasi-orthogonal transforms
allow for reasonably precise spatial peaks QRS–T estimates and thus a potentially practical way to
visually estimate spatial peaks QRS–T angles from conventional 12-lead ECGs.
© 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Reconstruction; Transform; Vectorcardiography; Frank; Orthogonal
Introduction
The spatial QRS –T angle is a vectorcardiographic (VCG)
parameter with notable diagno stic [1–5] and prognostic
[2,6–15] utility. For example in a recent study by Borleffs et
al. [6] of 412 patients who had coronary ischemia as well as
implanted cardiac defibrillators (ICD's) and ejection frac-
tions ≤ 40%, a spatial angle greater than 100 degrees was
associated with a hazard ratio for appropriate ICD discharge
of 7.3. In addition to assisting with risk stratification for
cardiac events, the angle is also useful for evaluation of
incident coronary heart disease [2,4,12], heart failure
[4,11,13], and the efficacy of therapy for adult hypertension
[1] and diabetes mellitus [5]. Most recently the spatial QRS–
T angle has also been shown to be more useful than any
parameter from the conventional scalar 12-lead ECG for
identifying both adult and pediatric hypertrophic cardiomy-
opathy [3,16]. As noted in previous publications, of the
various methods used for deriving the Frank XYZ leads
from conventional 12-lead ECG recordings, and then in turn
for estimating secondary parameters such as the spatial
QRS–T angle, the regression method described by Kors
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
ScienceDirect
Journal of Electrocardiology 47 (2014) 12 – 19
www.jecgonline.com
⁎
Corresponding author. CHOC Children's/Children's Hospi tal of
Colorado, 455 South Main Street, Orange, CA 92868, USA.
E-mail address: dr.danielcortez@gmail.com
0022-0736/$ – see front matter © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jelectrocard.2013.09.003